Voyagers!: The Fossil hunter
by Mrs.Phineas Bogg
Summary: In this short snippet, Bogg and Jeff land on a beach in England just in time to aid a young woman on the brink of a major discovery. It's a discovery among many others for which she historically received little to no credit.


**Voyagers!: The Fossil hunter  
**

Dusk settled in along the wind whipped coast of Lyme Regis. The waters of the ocean surged forward, splashing the young woman from behind. She paid no mind and enjoyed the cool mists that dampened her warm skin. Her long, rich mane of black hair swirled around her, her fingers were raw and ruddy from constant digging into the deeper crevices of the cliff. She shifted her position over the fossil and eventually sat upon her knees after nearly a half hour of crouching. She could barely feel the aching in her legs. She was only focused on removing the wonderful find.

Her helper was growing antsy. He kept staring out over the waves and shaking his head. "Mary, we've done all we can for the day, we'll be losing the light soon and the tide is coming in sprightly. We can come back in the morning."

Mary continued to dust off the bone shards. She waved her hand at him and adjusted her white collar._ "_Please, Michael. I've come so far. I _can't_ give up now! This is the second Pleisosaur I've found!"

"Mary, I'm not asking you _to _give up, I'm asking you to take some rest! It's getting very dangerous out here!"

Another wave crashed against the cliff, sending harsher sprays of saltwater over them. Mary wiped her brow and disregarded it. Michael groaned. He had been Mary's assistant for over a month, and when she was exploring, the rest of the world melted away. At these moments it was just Mary and the ancient remains of the fantastic giant creatures that once roamed the earth. Michael cast a glance across the ocean once more and his eyes widened. A giant wave was headed straight toward the cliff. It showed no signs of slowing and grew more powerful as it sucked up the waters around it. He tugged on Mary's apron in desperation.

"We must go now! We'll be drowned! _Come!"_

Mary dropped her chisel and hammer and leaped to her feet. Michael was already racing toward the shoreline, believing she was behind him. Mary turned, her legs weakened and stiff, and the wave plunged down. She threw her arms over her face with a scream and was swept into the sea.

**-Oo-**

"I don't know what's worse than sand grains in my sneakers!" Jeffrey Jones complained, shaking out his Nikes.

"I'll tell ya what, wet sand in_ my_ boots!_"_ His partner, Phineas Bogg replied, yanking off his high brown boots and slapping the heels.

"Bogg, _man! _When was the last time you changed those socks? They've got so many rips, you might as well not even wear them! They're getting pretty ripe too, I can smell them from here!"

Phineas wiggled his long toes; three of them jutted out from raggedy holes and the socks had lost their elasticity on top. They continually slid down his heels and it was one of the most uncomfortable feelings imaginable. He tore them off his feet disgusted and tossed them in a ball.

"Happy now? Because I sure am! Next stop, somewhere I can get those athletic socks _you _wear."

"Good thinking. I can use a few new pairs myself. I'm liable to get athletes foot."

"What's _that?"_

_"Ughh,_ it's _nasty._ It's a burning and itching sensation on your toes, it gets _so bad _it can bleed and crack and it gives you fungus on your nails and skin!"

Phineas shivered at the thought. _"Yuck! _ In that case, we better hurry up and check this omni so we can get the socks. I don't want mushrooms growing out of my feet!"

The Voyagers stood up and wiped the sand off their clothes. Phineas flipped open his omni. "England, 1829…_wuh oh!_ Red light, kid!"

Just as he clipped it back to his belt, Jeffrey pointed out a man running in the distance and shouting for help. The Voyagers glanced at each other.

"We may have found the problem. We're right on target." Phineas said, and they took off down the shore.

The man panted heavily and doubled over from the exertion. He held his knees to catch his breath and Jeffrey put his arm over his shoulders to keep him calm.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

"Please help us! Mary! _Oh heavens!_ I left _Mary! _I heard her scream, but I couldn't see her! She fell off the cliff in the ocean!"

Phineas grabbed his shoulders alarmed and stood him up. "Tell me _where!"_

Michael pointed frantically toward the jagged cliff a few yards down the beach.

"There! I…I thought she was with me!"

"Jeff, stay with him! I'm going after her!"

He tossed Jeffrey the omni for safekeeping and Jeffrey latched it to his belt loop with a firm nod. There was no sense in talking Phineas out of the rescue. He was going to do what he had to and he was going to do it successfully or die trying.

"Be careful, Bogg! The tides are tricky."

"I know, but this pirate knows how to swim."

Instead of running down the beach and slowing himself down, Phineas dove into the chilly waters and swam briskly toward the cliff. The waves were powerful, but he fought against them, allowing their buoyancy to carry him toward his destination. He noticed a woman clinging for her life to a rock a few feet from the cliff's bottom. She couldn't hold on any longer. Phineas dove under and propelled himself forward until he popped up for air. The woman's fingers were barely on the stone and the slippery moss prevented her from getting a solid hold. She turned her head to him, her wide set brown eyes full of tears and she begged him to save her.

"Help me, sir! _Please help me!_ I'm slipping! _Ahhhhh!"_

Another wave crashed over both of them, dragging Phineas further from her and knocking her under the water.

"No! _Mary!"_

Phineas submerged again, using all his strength to keep himself from being swept away. He saw the woman struggling to surface. She hadn't gone too far down, but any moment another wave would slam her into the sharp rocks hidden below the cliff. Phineas swam close to her. He ducked her thrashing arms and eventually grabbed for her hand. She couldn't hold her breath much longer. Phineas put his arm across her chest, locking her in his grip and they kicked upward. Mary panicked, and kept flailing her body from side to side, making the ascent a little more difficult. When they finally broke the surface, Phineas struggled to keep her afloat and she clung to him.

"Please stay _calm!_ I have you, Mary! Just relax your body! Let me bring you in, otherwise we'll both drown!" He demanded, winded. He leaned Mary against the crook of his arm and patted her back to help her choke out the seawater.

Mary gasped for air, and let her body go limp. She was grateful for the handsome stranger's intervention. He swam her away from the dangerous rocks and toward the shoreline. As soon as their feet hit sand, the man swooped her up and ran with her a few feet beyond the edge of the water and far from the battering waves. He sat her down gently and crouched in front of her. He tenderly pushed the soaking dark hair out of her face.

"You're going to be okay, we made it. Are you hurt?"

Mary choked and grabbed his arm to keep steady. She found herself staring into the most sincere and bluest eyes she had ever seen. His serene expression almost made her feel she was gazing into the face of a beautiful angel. His voice was as thunderous as the heavens during a storm. She shivered and was finally able to speak.

"N…no…_no, sir_, many thanks to you. I surely thought I was going to die out there! This makes the third time I cheated death."

"You're very welcome, Mary. What do you mean by _third_ time?" He questioned and pushed back his wet, shaggy hair. He smiled softly at her. He thought Mary was attractive, with high cheekbones and a strong, aquiline nose. Her skin was tanned from exposure to the sun.

"My parents had nine children, but me and my brother Joseph were the only ones to survive. When I was a baby, there was a lightening strike in my village. Three people were killed, including the woman who held me, but _I_ survived! My mother always said that the stroke of lightning raised my intellect and creativity. It was the only way she could explain my intense interest in science and dusty old bones to those who ridiculed. My father died when I was eleven from tuberculosis, but I was fortunate enough not to catch it. He was the one who instilled a love for this work in my brother and I."

Phineas whistled in surprise. "Wow, I'm so sorry, Mary, that's a very amazing story." Phineas felt the tension in his muscles subside. The woman was going to be fine, she was coherent and even about ready to go back to the work she was doing.

Mary wrung out her hair and then gaped at him astonished. "Wait a moment, _how _did you know my name?"

Jeffrey and Michael hurried over to them. Jeffrey collapsed in the sand beside Phineas and hugged him.

"That was awesome, Bogg! You did it!"

Phineas returned the hug and then caught Jeffrey's wink. The omni was now a green light. Michael paced around them and then sank to the sand. He tearfully grasped Mary's hands.

"Please forgive me! When I left you on the cliff, I thought for sure you were behind me. I didn't know what to do when I saw you fall in. I'm not a strong swimmer like this young man here! I was so glad to find them coming up along the beach!"

Mary hugged her friend. "Michael, don't worry! I know you weren't deliberately abandoning me. You warned me to _leave_ the fossils, but like the fool I am, I didn't listen. I'm sorry for putting you through that distress."

Mary attempted to get up and Phineas and Michael clutched her arms and lifted her. She tottered and Phineas caught her.

"We should get you to a doctor, you may have swallowed a lot more seawater than you realize."

"Oh dear!_ No,_ that is quite all right. I just must be dizzy because I haven't eaten since breakfast. I get very preoccupied with my work and forget meals."

Mary backed away from Phineas and drew her arms over her chest, realizing her billowy white blouse was soaked through to the skin. Phineas glanced the other way until she felt comfortable and tapped Jeffrey to do the same. She smiled shyly from his respectful manner.

"Please, you are both welcome to come to my home for dinner. It's not much, but we'll give you the best of what we have. I still live with my mother and brother. They would love to meet you."

Jeffrey tugged on his sleeve and Phineas smiled at her, holding up his finger. "_Umm, _will you excuse us for just a moment?"

"Of course…_uhh_…"

"Phineas Bogg. And this is my friend, Jeffrey Jones."

"It's my pleasure to meet you both, Phineas." She beamed.

Jeffrey pulled Phineas a few feet away to begin his historical account. Phineas crossed his arms and grinned slyly.

"I always know when the history lesson's about to come, the way your eyes light up like that. Lay it on me, who she is, and what did we fix?"

"I just realized it now, Bogg. She's _Mary Anning._ She spent her entire life hunting fossils along this beach. Her family was very poor and she used to sell the fossils and seashells she found to local museums, scientists and curio shops. She could have been a really good and famous scientist if the schools would have allowed women to be better educated."

"Oh, that's very interesting, so she was like an archaeologist of sorts?"

"Something like that. She discovered the remains of the Ichthyosaur, plesiosaur and chimaeras dinosaurs."

Phineas scratched his head confused. "Okay, I take it that's _noteworthy?_ You can stop there; all I know are the Pterodactyl, brontosaurus and the T-rex."

Jeffrey rolled his eyes, but smiled at him. "Yeah, it's noteworthy. She also found something similar to the Pterodactyl too, but she was never really given any credit through the years. Her findings helped scientists to discover evidence for extinction and have a better understanding of geology. Before that, they just thought the dinosaurs migrated to 'unknown' parts of the earth. There's not much known about her life though, since she was poor and her name was always left out of the scientist reports and announcements of the discoveries."

Phineas grunted disappointed. _"Figures! _That makes me mad! People never give credit where it is due! Well, they're waiting for us, whaddya say we go eat a little something, I can get dry and we can…"

Jeffrey shook his head and held him back. _"No, _Bogg. We shouldn't hang around here any longer. It's green already. Besides, you two are already making googly eyes at each other, you_ know_ what can happen!"

Phineas had to laugh and patted his back. "Don't I know? You're getting too big for your britches, kid! But I guess you're right."

Jeffrey glanced at his feet and cringed. His brown pants rode up to the tops of his ankles. "I sure _am!_ Can we just get moving to 1970 or something? I _really _need new clothes, I'm busting out of these already. Pretty soon the button on my corduroys are gonna pop and the seams are gonna split!"

Phineas rolled his eyes. He wouldn't have minded a change of clothes, considering he was also cold and drenched. "Alright, let me just say goodbye to her."

"Let's make it snappy, Bogg."

"Okay, _okay_. Talk about _snappy!"_

The Voyagers traipsed back to Mary and Michael and Phineas held out his hand. Michael shook it vigorously.

"Have you decided?"

Mary bit her lip shyly, never removing her gaze from Phineas. He winked at her, but shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but Jeffrey and I have to keep moving on. We wish you both the best success in your fossil endeavors."

Mary bowed her head glumly, but then looked up with a small smile. "Thank you, Phineas. Fossil hunting is my passion. It's my entire life. Oh, before you both leave, please take this."

Mary dug into the satchel Michael had slung over his back and pulled out two corals. She carefully placed them in Phineas' palm. Both he and Jeffrey gazed at their design in awe.

"I found them within a few feet of each other just yesterday and something told me they needed to be together. Go on, you can attach them."

Phineas took the green coral and slipped it into the notch of the red one, it was a near perfect fit and they adhered in a coiled fashion down the center.

"Wow, that's really neat! Can I hold it, Bogg?"

"Sure, kid. Knock yourself out." Phineas handed it to Jeffrey.

"Thank you so much, are you sure you want us to have it? I mean you could probably sell it and make a good profit. It's beautiful."

"No, _please!_ I want you to keep them to remind you of this little adventure."

"I know I'll never forget it, Mary."

Mary stared across the horizon as the sun finally settled down for the night. She was growing chilly. "We must go too, then. Thank you, Phineas."

Phineas leaned forward and kissed her on her cheek, keeping his hand cupped softly on her chin. She brushed her cheek in his palm then pulled away coyly and cleared her throat.

"Perhaps we'll see you again?"

"I don't know about that, but, you take care of yourself, Mary…you too Michael. And _no more _late night dips off the cliff!_"_

They all laughed at that. Phineas and Jeffrey waved them off and they waited until they were safely out of sight off the coastline. Jeffrey kept the coral in his hand, admiring the texture against his skin.

"Hey, Bogg, do you mind if _I_ held onto this? It makes me feel like I have my own omni." He kidded.

Phineas laughed at him. "Sure thing, Jeff. You'll get a real one soon enough. Now, where to?"

"_Anywhere_ we can find good clothes that fit!"

"How about we go to the old stomping grounds? VHQ?"

"Sounds like a plan! Hey, I just remembered something else about Mary. She's also the inspiration for a tongue twister."

Phineas adjusted his omni dials. "Really, which one?"

"_She sells seashells by the seashore_. Try saying that one three times fast!"

**The End.**


End file.
